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Topic: 1968 Daytona 24-Hour recollections (Read 15155 times)

In the winter of 1967-68, I had just come off another rousingly successful season of SCCA racing. Actually, I had earned enough points in D Sedan to qualify for the run offs (the first time in 10 seasons) but I had blown the engine in my Fiat Abarth 1000 Berlina Corsica and couldn’t afford the $300 (that Faza wanted to extort from me) for a new crank in time for the National Championship event. So, I sold my race car back to Sam Caronia (and threw in the trailer for good measure).

Prospects for the ’68 season looked bleak and my job as regional manager for Ford Motor Co. kept me traveling the Mountains of Virginia.

One of my customers mentioned to me that his friend was going to drive in the 24 Hours of Daytona and needed a co-driver for the Corvette. “Yeah-sure” I said and then asked “Who?”

J Arnold Michele, the proud owner of the 427 Corvette, was the head chef at The Homestead Resort about 40 miles away and when he invited me over to see the car I was there in a “Chevy Heartbeat”. Arnold, a displaced Frenchman who had come to this country aboard Henry Ford’s yacht and defected to the Blue Ridge Mountains, displayed this gleaming red 1966 427 Vette to me and his entry form for the 24 Hour. According to Arnold, he had bought the car from one Roger Penske who had the engine blueprinted and balanced and Arnold was going to run it in the 24 Hour. With my impeccable credentials (puffed up just a little), he signed me on the spot and didn’t even ask for any money. My co-driver was to be Ed Ross, another small bore unknown, and his buddy Lloyd James who had recently contracted meningitis and wouldn’t be able to drive but a few laps.

"The Mighty 427"Craige Pelouze Collection

As there was less than a month till the big race and I was drooling over the fastest thing I had ever had the prospects of getting my hands on, I asked Arnold how he expected to get this street machine prepped for such a prestigious international race in such a short time. Arnold replied that an old time stock car builder in Daytona was going to build it in two weeks before the race and he set off to tow it on the ground the 800 miles to Daytona.

When Arnold pulled into Red Vogt’s garage behind the Speedway, the first of a streak of luck began when the tow bar broke and the Vette coasted to a stop six inches from the door!

Preparations underway in Red's shopCraige Pelouze Collection

When I arrived at the shop the Sunday before the race, the car was well along --- the roll bar was installed. As the other two drivers and I frantically helped Red prepare the car we discovered that we had a standard 16 gallon fuel tank and no refueling rig, a 4.11 (drag racing) gear and only four American mag wheels. “Not to worry” said Arnold in his offensive French accent. “My VP friend at General Motors is sending a 36 gallon tank, a 3.70 rear and eight more wheels. “Not to worry” said Red in his best Ford/Nascar lingo “You won’t need a 36 gallon tank or extra wheels because this fiberglass piece of junk won’t run 2 hours, much less 24!”

In desperation to find a rear I called Chevy dealerships, went to Smokey Yunick’s garage (he offered me an aluminum center section out of an experimental Indy car) and I finally drifted over to the track to walk around the pits and look for another ride. Once I had gotten my breath back after seeing the 24-degree banking for the first time, I went in the garage and found James Garner watching as the rears were being taken out of his three Corvette entries. After getting up enough nerve to speak to James, I quizzically asked why they were taking out all those differentials. He explained that these were worn out in practice and were being replaced with new ones for the race. He looked a little puzzled when I asked to buy one of those worn out ones but said, “OK, for $200.” When I got back to Red’s and asked Arnold for the $200 he said he was broke!! Well, the three drivers dug deep and we had a rear (albeit slightly worn).

Red Vogt AutomotiveCraige Pelouze Collection

By the time we got through tech, Wednesday night practice was starting and we had never even been around the course. Lloyd went out first and at the end of his first lap he came down the pit road by mistake and looped it right in front of our pit. Lloyd stepped out of the car, checked the squishy feeling in his suit and announced that he had completed his night practice.

Thursday, we qualified well and were in the field with the likes of Vic Elford, Jo Siffert, Rolf Stommelen, and Hans Herrmann in Porsche 907s, Jerry Titus in a Mustang, Ronnie Bucknum, Nino Vacarella and Mario Andretti in Alfa T33s, Peter Gregg in a Porsche 911, Jerry Grant, Joie Chitwood, Sam Posey and Peter Revson in Sunray DX Corvettes along with Don Yenko and Dick Guldstrand in factory Vettes, and my old SCCA racing buddy Mark Donohue in Penske’s new, trick Z28 Camaro.

By Friday night the car was perfect, our pit crew was beginning to arrive, and we were getting excited! Arnold was still promising the wheels would arrive but it was too late to install the big tank even if it did show up. We flipped to see who would start at noon Saturday and decided we would run strong until the tires were worn out and then retire the car. At least, we consoled each other, we could tell our grandchildren some day that we “ran” the 24 Hour.

Saturday morning, we pushed the car to the grid in our new driving suits and lined up just like the Big Boys (only they didn’t know that the only wheels we had were on the car). As I sat on the pit wall and contemplated the enormity of the whole spectacle, I didn’t have a clue as to the memories I would own from having the privilege of participating in such a historic event.

Craige Pelouze, Arnold Michele and Ed Ross on the grid prior to the raceCraige Pelouze Collection

As I turned around, I spied a brand new Vette (with American mag wheels) pull in and park right behind our pit. A young college kid and his girlfriend emerged. When I asked him how he would like to have four slightly used racing tires in exchange for his wheels for 24 hours, he said “jack ‘er up”, and we were ready to race.

Ed Ross readies himself for the startCraige Pelouze Collection

Our streak of good luck continued through the race, aided by the impeccable driving skill of the two Stump Jumpers from Virginia. Before I ever turned a lap in practice, wise old Red asked “Sonny boy, what do you know about driving on a banked track?” I confessed that the sporty car tracks I had driven on were pretty flat and I didn’t know a thing. Well, wise old Red said, “I want your ass in lane four right up against the outside wall in the banking.” When I said “But Red, that wall is 5 feet tall and 3 feet thick”, he responded “Yeah, and if you’re up against it and lose it you will just graze it and it will straighten you out and not hit it head on”. Well, wise old Red saved my butt about dusk when a Mustang blew up in Nascar turn 4 and dumped oil in the “groove”. I was high on the banking, well out of the groove, and watched in horror as three cars hit the oil, and then the wall, and then exploded right in front of me. I knew I needed to avoid that at all cost because we did not even have a roll cage, much less a fuel cell, and that would have been disastrous.

Our luck continued through the night, but I felt a little sad when I walked down the pit and saw the only other open cockpit car (with which I had developed a little hand wave rapport) a Morgan sitting lifelessly all alone in its pit stall. I commented to my friend that it was a shame that the Morgan wouldn’t finish and she pointed to the solo driver/pit crew sleeping on a cot behind the wall. After his nap, he serviced the car, climbed back in, and finished the race. After the race, I understand he drove it back to New England by himself!! I guess since it was ONE of him to have the fun you could say that he had more fun than any other team.

He was no more dedicated than our fueler Chuck Jett, who had driven solo Friday night from Richmond, VA, poured every one of the 335 gallons of fuel (with our home made 5-gallon dump can) every hour and ten minutes, drove straight through back to Richmond Sunday night, and reported for work Monday morning!!! That’s the kind of friendship and dedication that makes this sport what it is; or what it used to be.

Sunrise is a beautiful thing at Daytona, especially if you’re still running. Although the Vette was still strong we were short shifting and using the next highest gear through the infield to keep the enormous torque from that mighty 427 from smoking the tires coming off the corners. With the end of the race near and prospects of finishing high, I was particularly careful and moved over to the outside at the hairpin to let a T33 have the preferred inside lane as he passed me. Evidently, Mario thought I moved over to block him and he gave me the universal hand signal that I was number one. The last few hours I decided to hold my line regardless of who was lapping me.

Craige Pelouze takes one of his stints behind the wheel.Craige Pelouze Collection

Thirty years later in the pits at Daytona, I met for the first time the driver of the 1st place GT car and found that he had driven his Porsche 911 down from Jacksonville for our race and drove it back home without ever changing the left front tire.

We came in 22nd overall and 3rd in GT. Not bad for a rogue team of amateurs against the best in the world at that time in history!!

Those were the Good Old Days. Thanks Arnold and Red.

P.S. All three of Garner’s entries went out --- reportedly with rear end failure.

A job well done. Now loaded up and ready to head home.Craige Pelouze Collection

While not a Camaro story (at least it's a Chevy), it is a great story nonetheless and gives the reader a sense of what it was like to be a privateer racer running with against some of the best in the business back in the day. Here are a couple more photos from Craige.

Arnold Michele and Ed RossCraige Pelouze Collection

Ed Ross is all smiles and ready to goCraige Pelouze Collection

Daytona carnage. Craige's Corvette visible on the banking and Donohue's Camaro is seen alsoCraige Pelouze Collection

Glad to hear you guys enjoyed the story. I don't know if the Corvette continued to race but this was a one time deal for Craige and Ed.I also thought it was surprising that they installed a used rear end from one of the Garner Corvettes and they had no problem with itbut the Garner cars had all kinds of problems with them. That seemed to be the claim anyway.

Jon, the secret here was to drive 7 or 8 10ths - keep the revs down. A big block Corvette in those days was a scary thing to drive, especially for small bore guys who were maybe used to 69 HP! They would also have been lucky to avoid any nonsense on the track.

Craig Wheeldon sent me the information below after reading Craige's article. It's another great perspective on racing at Daytona. Thanks for sharing this with us, Craig!

It's not relevant to Camaros, but regarding the Daytona adventure you posted on the CRG site today, there's an interesting quote from Masten Gregory (as told to Ken Purdy for an article called "Masten Gregory Lives!" that was published in Esquire magazine in January, 1969) which you may be interested in reading, as it is about the same race and Masten's mindset regarding crashes to compare with the Red Vogt advice given to Craige Pelouze:

"Now my last crash - I hope it was my last one - at Daytona last month (Feb 3/68) was interesting because it showed how it is when you've had a few shunts, so that you don't get terribly frightened, and when you do know, technically, how to cope. A wonderful thing happens. Time slows down to a crawl, or else your mind runs like a computer, you know everything that's going on, and you can just sit there and consider the alternatives that will get you out of it. Anybody who's been driving for a long time can do that, like Moss when his left rear wheel came off at Spa, in Belgium. He sat there and planned out the whole accident in the fat part of a second and a half. Portago used to say, when he was steeplechasing, 'When you fall at a jump, the thing to do is to look around for a horse to hide behind. There always seems to be lots of time'."

"And there is. At Daytona, I came by the pits in the middle of the night, flat-out, that's about 180 m.p.h. in the car I was driving, a Ferrari, and just before I got to the braking point I saw sparks and smoke, and some kind of shape, on the road in front of me, it was a car that was rolling over, although I couldn't be sure of that in the dark. I banged the brakes on. And then instantly I hit a patch of oil the car in front of me had dumped, and I went sideways; then a Porsche I'd just passed hit me and tipped me over and my car started rolling down the track. I thought, well, this is fairly dismal, the major danger here is fire, upside-down, ruptured tanks , all that. There was no point in trying to steer, so I just let go of the wheel, and there was no point in worrying about hitting something, the fence, another car, because there was nothing I could do about it, I had no control. On the second roll, the car hit the road very hard, and my head hit the roof, so I pulled my head down, tucked my chin into my chest, in case the roof came in. Then I half undid the latch on my seatbelt - it was a combined double-shoulder-and-lap harness - to be sure it wouldn't jam, so I could get out if the thing burned, but I held the two parts together with my hand, because I was still rolling and needed it. I was convinced there'd be a fire, because every time the car rolled right-side up it bottomed somehow and a tremendous sheet of sparks flew up between my legs. Finally it stopped rolling - landed on its feet - and the windshield had popped out and was long gone, so I looked out and I thought, well, right, it's down to about twenty miles an hour, which is a great improvemnt on 180, I slipped the buckle, rolled out onto the bonnet and just stepped off the thing and walked into the infield."

The article went on to include quotes about some of Masten's previous experience surviving crashes, including his two famous ones in England during the late fifties where he jumped out of a moving car (at as much as 135 m.p.h.!) just prior to impact.

As an addenda to this ...I organized a Yenko Sportscars reunion in July 06 in Ohio , and both 68 Sunray DX Corvettes attended, as well as a number of former Yenko employees from the race team, including Warren D and George Furda. The DX owners were proudly expounding on the history of their cars as George was on his knees looking under the cars. As he arose shaking his head,one of the owners asked him what was wrong. George asked " Where is the scoop ? " What scoop ? the owner asked. The aluminum scoop that goes under and around the differential, George replied. There is no such thing, the owner replied and by the way , who the Hell are you ? I built this car said George and made a scoop to direct air over the diff to cool it at high speed. The owner suddenly reached out to shake Georges hand and apoligize for his ignorance ! Needless to say, many more questions resulted.